Avocado feta tartine

Toast with mayo, avocado and feta. This little puppy is what changed the way I look at avocado. No longer merely a base for amazing guacamole, I've come to truly appreciate how delicious it is on its own. My husband loves this recipe too. As someone who loves a good word-play, he takes any opportunity to call avocados "lawyers" (in French both words are expressed as "avocats"). Hilarity ensues. 

We do try to eat locally as often as possible, and avocados are one food that pricks at my conscience. If only they grew in our corner of the world... oh avocado why must your carbon-footprint be so large? *sigh* I guess produce this time of year will be grown far away... no matter how you slice it. (hihi)

Avocado is the butter of the fresh produce world - creamy and spreadable, and full of good fat. A friend of mine who lived in Uganda said that she would crave avocados because they ate so few other fats. When my husband and I did a diet cleanse (no processed foods, white flour products or white sugar products) I often found myself hungry at the end of the day -it was probably because I was still nursing my 3-month-old, but regardless I wanted something satisfying. This tartine was my go-to snack and it is still a favourite of mine whenever we have ripe avocados kicking around. 

Note: "Tartine" is the French word for open-faced sandwich and it makes it sound fancy, even though this is just toast with stuff on it.  Think of it as a sandwich with half the carbs.

Avocado feta tartine

Ingredients:

2 pieces of toast (Rice cakes would probably work as a gluten-free option)

1/2 ripe avocado

Real mayonnaise

Crumbled feta

Directions:

First, toast two pieces of bread. (Whole wheat or sprouted bread are good options) 

Then spread a thin layer of mayonnaise. Not Cool Whip! I mean Miracle Whip. None of the Whips should come into contact with your toast, if you can help it. 

Slice half the avocado into about 1/4 inch thick slices.

Crumble about 3-4 tablespoons' worth of feta.

Then scoop the avocado slices out with a knife (or your thumbnail...) and lay on top of your toast. You could squish them with your knife and spread it out like real butter if you felt like it.  Top with crumbled feta.

This goes well with a bowl of soup or chili. I think I see a chili recipe coming soon...

Enjoy!

Pizza roll-ups

Pizza roll-ups. Why didn't I think of this before?? That's what my husband and I both said after eating one and that's what you will say when you try this. I made one the other day as a quick side to go with a soup for lunch (potato leek with lentils) and they are already a favourite. The quality of ingredients go a long way, a dry-cured salami and good cheese make this so much more than folded up Greco.
No offence Greco.
I imagine you could add more ingredients to this recipe, like mushrooms or peppers or any other favourite topping, but it would probably be harder to eat and you'd likely lose more ingredients out the back end of the roll. Messy. But hey it's pizza - feel free to play around and mess up!

Pizza Roll-ups

Ingredients:
Makes 2
2 whole wheat tortilla wraps
4 tbsp prepared tomato sauce
A few ounces of dry-cured salami
Grated cheese to taste

 We get our salami at Costco and it is head and shoulders above any sliced stuff I've tried. It reminds me of the French "saucisson", which I've never found here in SJ. The emmental pictured here is worth trying, but cheddar or mozzarella work too.

Directions:

Lay out two wraps and spread 2 tbsp of sauce on each. You don't want too much or else you roll will slip around and drip as you try to eat it.

Next, slice up the salami and cut into small chunks. Doesn't this stuff look good??

Sprinkle evenly on your sauced-up tortillas. This is where I could picture adding more ingredients...

Grate your cheese and spread it out evenly.

This next step is not pictured but I'm sure you can handle it. Place the tortillas on a cookie sheet and then slide under the broiler for just 1 or 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Keep a close eye, that broiler is a hot sucker!

Then take them out and slide onto the counter for rolling. Roll them like... well like you would roll anything. Eat them while standing at the counter because they're just so good. Alternatively you can sit down and have them with another side dish such as salad or soup. Enjoy!

My husband loved this so much he tried coming up with exciting names like Pizza Bomb, but I thought that sounded too messy.

You can also slice the pizza roll-up into inch-thick rounds. We call this one Pizzushi. 

Everything salad

This is one of my favourite go-to lunches. It's big, it's beautiful and as delicious as it is filling. I make it with whatever I have in the fridge, everything but the kitchen sink, as they say, so it ends up being different every time. Throw together some greens, veggies, a protein, herbs and dress this baby up in your favourite salad dressing and dig in! I try to include some kind of protein or else I end up feeling hungry no matter how many lovely veggies are in it. You can pick and choose the ingredients you want and make a new version any day based on what is in your fridge. The beauty of this salad is that it's hard to go wrong and it's so quick! Fresh herbs aren't always easy to find but the amazing flavour makes them well worth another trip around the produce section.

Today's salad featured spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, pickles, feta, chickpeas and parsley with my balsamic vinaigrette. So good.

*Note* To all you moms out there, for Sophie I slice up extra veggies and cheese, add some toast or wrap to make a nice picnic lunch. No need to make a separate meal!

Everything Salad

Ingredients: (choose one of each of the following categories for a nicely balanced salad)

I've included approximate quantities for one large portion of salad - multiply accordingly!

Greens - 2 handfuls

Any lettuce torn up, baby greens or baby spinach

Veggies - 1 to 1 1/12 cup 

Any combination of the following

- tomatoes

- cucumbers

- peppers

- pickles

- mushrooms

- grated carrot

- grated zucchini

Protein - 1/4 to 1/2 cup  

Choose one or combine two (bacon and eggs! hehe)

- chicken

- bacon
- tuna

- chickpeas

- hardboiled eggs

- feta
- quinoa
- nuts (walnuts, peanuts, almonds)
- seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)

Herbs - 2 tbsp

Optional for when you can find them

- basil

- parsley

- mint

- oregano

Vinaigrette - 2 tbsp

Use storebought or make your own

Zucchini summer salad

This type of grated salad (or a variation of it) has been a staple around here for a few weeks now.  Since our lettuce turned bitter our salads have looked a little different but are no less delicious! I love to have some kind of raw salad every day, and have been trying to incorporate as many garden vegetables into them as I can.  The idea of a grated salad may be new to you, but hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised at the flavour and texture! This salad is incredibly versatile and can be composed of any combination of your favourite veggies and herbs.  I have been trying to find uses for the large quantity of zucchini my garden has been yielding, so although there are many other ingredients in this salad, zucchini is the base.

Ingredients:
1 tomato
1 small cucumber
2 small carrots, peeled
1 kolhrabi or broccoli stem, peeled
2-3 inches of a zucchini (about 1 cup)
2 green onions
Handful of basil
2 tbsp of favourite salad dressing (I use a homemade balsamic vinaigrette)

The green onions (not pictured) and carrots are the only item not from my garden. I'm not about to waste a perfectly good garden carrot on a salad! Those are for enjoying by themselves.

Directions:
Chop the tomato, cucumber, green onion and basil. Grate the carrots, kolhrabi or broccoli stem and zucchini.

For the curious, this is what a kolhrabi looks like. 

Dump everything in a medium-sized bowl and drizzle with the dressing - add more to taste. 

Stir it up good. 

Serve with a sandwich or wrap. Or IN the wrap if you so desire.

Such a delicious and satisfying lunch - and healthy!

Crustless quiche in a skillet

I watched the movie Julie and Julia, and promptly asked for "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Childs for Christmas.  Which I got :)  After drooling over the recipes made during the movie, I found the cookbook was full of really rich recipes which were mostly variations of each other relying primarily on quantities of butter, wine or cream.  While I do enjoy some of the key recipes, (crêpes, cream puffs, white sauce...) I am unlikely to cook from it in my day-to-day menu.  That said, the recipe for Quiche Lorraine was the basis for this one, with some adaptations.  Thanks Julia. 

I love quiche.  But I do not love making crusts and I do not love washing tons of bowls and pans.  This recipe uses one pan and one bowl, and no crust!  The flour whisked into the eggs and milk sinks to the bottom and forms a thin crust of sorts.  This is an easy breakfast or lunch for two with enough leftover for one to eat the next day. (You'll have to fight over it)  This recipe is versatile and can be adapted to whatever combination of vegetables, cheeses and herbs you can think of.  One note in the afore-mentioned cookbook was to count about 2 cups of solids (combination of veggies, cheese, meats) and 1 1/2 cups of liquid (milk and/or cream) with 4 eggs for a 9-inch pan (or skillet).  Use your creativity!  Or, just make this recipe.

Crustless quiche in a skillet

*Note: Choose a skillet that can be used in the oven

Ingredients:

Approx. 6 slices of bacon, sliced

1 tomato, chopped

1/2 cup grated zucchini

3 mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup grated cheddar

Salt and pepper

Handful fresh basil, chopped

4 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup cream

1/3 cup flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.

Julia suggests you may want to simmer your bacon in water for 5 minutes to get some of the salty-smokiness out. While normally I would relish the smoky-saltiness, my bacon was home-made by my brother (who is in school taking culinary arts) and was particularly smoky and salty.  

So, place bacon in a oven-proof skillet and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. 

Drain water,

and return bacon pan and brown. 

While the bacon is browning, prepare your other ingredients, chop the tomato and mushrooms and grate the zucchini and cheese. 

Grab some nice fragrant basil and chop it up fine. 

I threw the mushrooms and zucchini in the with the bacon, just because I felt like it.

While the veggies are cooking up, break 4 eggs in a bowl and measure in whatever combination of milk and/or cream you choose to use (calories schmalories) 

Whisk together with a pinch of salt and pinch of pepper.

Then add the flour and whisk well.

Then pour over the veggies and bacon. 

Sprinkle cheese and basil on top.

 Pop in the oven for 30-40 minutes until no longer jiggly and slightly browned.

When he tasted it my husband exclaimed, "It's so fluffy!" 

With each bite, you never know what combination of flavours you're going to get - mushroom and basil? Bacon and tomato?  Cheese and something?  The combinations are endless. Well, no they are finite and I could calculate them but I choose not to.

Enjoy.

Tuna, Olive and Gruyère Melt

My wonderful husband bought me a block of lovely Gruyère cheese the other day and every day I try to find some way of incorporating it into at least one meal. The flavour is just to die for, so smooth and nutty..,

Once, I almost visited the town of Gruyère, Switzerland, which this cheese is named after, but it didn't quite work out... (Geneva is so close!) I think my Swiss friends would have liked to educate me on cheese-ology because I come from the continent which unfortunately thinks swiss cheese is both Swiss and cheese.

Hello side-note.

So, in my pursuit of daily Gruyère eating, here is what I had for lunch yesterday. First it was going to be just cheese on a bagel, then I thought I'd make a tuna melt, and the olives were just pure inspiration. I love savoury things and these flavours just melded so well together. My husband almost threw up when I showed him. He HATES both tuna and olives. I guess two wrongs don't make a right :)

You can use swiss or emmental cheese if you can't get your hands on some gruyère. Just don't tell any Swiss people about the swiss cheese. They may have you arrested for crimes against cheese.

Tuna, Olive and Gruyère Melt

Ingredients:

Whole wheat bagel, halved

1/2 can tuna

mayonnaise

Squeeze of lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Large green olives, sliced

Gruyère cheese, sliced

Directions:

Mash up the tuna in a bowl, add a dollop of mayonnaise, squeeze of lemon juice and dash of salt and pepper - all to taste. Pat onto the bagel halves, layer on the olive slices and top with gruyère. Pop in the oven until the cheese is melted. Bon appétit!

Lunch on the road

We went to Halifax last weekend for my husband's grandmother's memorial service, and to spend time with extended family. It was a lovely weekend of catching up with cousins and reminiscing about Grammy. As for road trips, I hate spending money on food we've scavenged from convenience stores and fast-food joints, so I packed us this simple yet delicious lunch that sustained us for more than one meal. It's easy to eat well even when away from home! When you plan ahead that is... This time, kudos to me for planning!

On the menu:

- rosemary and black olive bread (homemade; recipe to come)

- smoked salmon

- cheddar cheese

- peaches and cherries

- yogurt

- cucumber wedges

- pretzels

- rice crispie squares and brownies

- black licorice

A recipe for deliciousness.